SolarCity Buys Silevo

SolarCity has signed a definitive agreement to acquire solar panel technology and manufacturing company Silevo for $200 million of stock and up to an additional $150 million in milestone payments.

“Our intent is to combine what we believe is fundamentally the best photovoltaic technology with massive economies of scale to achieve a breakthrough in the cost of solar power,” wrote SolarCity execs Chairman Elon Musk, Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Peter Rive and Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Lyndon Rive, in a corporate blog.

“Although no other acquisitions are currently being contemplated, SolarCity may acquire additional photovoltaics companies as needed to ensure clear technology leadership and we plan to grow internal engineering significantly,” stated the blog. “We are in discussions with the state of New York to build the initial manufacturing plant, continuing a relationship developed by the Silevo team. At a targeted capacity greater than 1 GW within the next two years, it will be one of the single largest solar panel production plants in the world. This will be followed in subsequent years by one or more significantly larger plants at an order of magnitude greater annual production capacity.”